Georgia ends Hartford's NCAA run

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, March 22, 2006

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Georgia guard Sherill Baker is known as the "Queen of Thieves" for her larcenous tendencies on the basketball court, but it was her offensive prowess that left Hartford searching for superlatives.

Georgia (23-8), which reached the round of 16 for the 16th time in 23
NCAA
appearances, will face either second-seeded Connecticut or No. 7 seed
Virginia Tech
, who played later Tuesday.

Together, Humphrey and Baker shot 22-for-33 (67 percent).

"They did a good job of sagging in on (Humphrey) in the first half, and that made it difficult to pass it in to her," said Georgia guard
Alexis Kendrick
. "Then we hit some shots and that really opened it up for her."

Baker moved into the NCAA all-time top 10 in steals with three Tuesday after accumulating nine in a first-round win over Marist. She put her offensve skills on display against Hartford, flitting in and around the Hawks defense seemingly at will.

"She's maxed out with me," he said. "She's going to have to find another coach who can find something else to get out of her, because she's doing everything I want her to do."

Combined with the bruising inside game of Humphrey, it was too much for No. 11 seed Hartford (27-4), which had upset Temple on Sunday for the first NCAA Tournament in the school's history.

Still, it was defense that won it for Georgia (23-8).

With the game tied at 42 early in the second half, Baker and backcourt mate
Janese Hardrick
sparked a 15-0 run that put the Bulldogs firmly in control.

Baker started it with a layup and a steal that led to a three-point play by Hardrick, and Hardrick stole the ball on the Hawks' next possession and drove for a layup. The run eventually reached 27-6, during which Hartford shot 2-for-13 and turned the ball over four times.

"We just needed some defensive stops and to get out in the passing lanes and get some fast-break points," said Baker.

It didn't help Hartford that guard
Erika Messam
left the game holding her left leg after landing awkwardly after a jump shot. By the time Messam re-entered with a wrap on her lower leg, the Bulldogs had already done their damage.

Hartford's strategy was to not focus so much on Humphrey at the expense of keeping tabs on Georgia's other scorers. But Baker dashed those plans.

"With Humphrey, I just felt like it was too hard to stop her and not expect three or four other guys to have 15, 20 points," said Hartford coach
Jennifer Rizzotti
. "So our game plan, to be honest, was to let her get 20-something points. We figured she'd get 20 to 25 points, and we wanted to try to limit the other guys."

Humphrey scored consecutive baskets to start the second half and give Georgia a 40-33 lead, but Hartford came back to tie the game at 42 on a jumper by
Erica Beverly
(13 points). It was five minutes before the Hawks scored again.

Danielle Hood
, who scored 20 points in Hartford's first-round upset of Temple, had just six at halftime and finished with 10, but her scoring load was taken up by Beverly, who scored eight straight points for the Hawks in one first-half stretch and finished the half with 12.

Baker finished the half with 12 points on an assortment of drives and silky jumpers. Humphrey matched her with 12 points and also demonstrated a soft touch from the outside to go along with her inside game.